The present invention relates generally to supports for trailers on railroad cars and more specifically to an improved stanchion to support trailers on a railroad car.
It is well known to transport trailers of trucks on railroad cars, namely, flat bed railroad cars. Some designs have used specialized structure railroad cars and adaptors for the landing gear of semi-trailer trucks as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 2,864,321. Others have provided stands for the king pin of the trailer which ride along a pair of slots in the surface of the railroad car. An example of these structures are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,845,878 and 2,903,977. Collapsible fifth wheel stands have also been installed at one end of a flat bed and arranged to be raised beneath a parked trailer to secure it to the railroad car. This is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,390.
All of the systems of the systems of the prior art have advantages and disadvantages. Those which use specialized car design are not usable to transport other types of freight. Those which have erect stands are not as storable and require the removal of unused stands at one location and a supply at the unloading location if there is further loading to be performed. The collapsible stands are not adjustable along the surface of the flat bed and, thus, do not allow for optimum placement of the maximum number of trailers on a train system. The positioning and securing of the stanchions require special equipment or more than one operator.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved stanchion for mounting trailers to a flat bed.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a collapsible stanchion for a flat bed which is adjustable along the length of the railroad car.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a self-propelled stanchion which can be moved longitudinally as well as raised and lowered.
These and other objects of the invention are attained by providing a stanchion with first and second struts pivotally connected to a king pin mating element at one end and wheels at the other end of the struts. A motive assembly interconnects at the wheel ends of the first and second struts and move them relative to each other to raise and lower the mating element. A propulsion system is provided to move the stanchion on the surface of a railroad car. A longitudinal channel is provided in the surface of the railroad car in which the wheels move. The motive assembly includes a threaded member and a screw which are rotated relative to each other so as to move the wheeled ends relative to each other. A single electrical motor includes a pair of clutches to interconnect the motor to the motive assembly and the propulsion system and are individually controlled to either propel or raise and lower the stanchion. A rack is provided in the channel and a pinion is provided on wheeled ends of the struts to propel the strut along the surface of the car. The transmission or clutches are braking clutches which lock the propulsion system or the motive assembly when deactivated. Electrical energy mounted in the car is connected to a conductor strip in the channel and provides the power to the electric motor.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.